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Students Earn Experience through Internships

Huntingdon College

News Release

Students Earn Experience through Internships

Montgomery, Ala.—At least 25 Huntingdon College students are earning resume-worthy experience toward their future goals this summer as interns working for professional entities in their fields of study. Huntingdon’s Center for Career and Vocation tracks internship placements, whether the positions are arranged by the CCV or by the student; whether for pay or experience only; whether for academic credit or no credit; and whether full- or part-time. Since 2017, students have served as interns for more than 100 offices, organizations, businesses, schools, or other entities tracked by the CCV. This summer’s internship locations range from Montgomery to Houston, Texas, and include law firms, media sites, churches, fitness organizations, health care, public agencies, construction, athletic teams, NASA, ESPN, laboratories, banks, and other organizations.

“Internships are among the most important factors in learning not only about the field you want to enter, but also about what it’s really like to work in that field,” says Sherry Leigh Lacey Farquhar, director of the Huntingdon CCV. “An internship can deepen a student’s conviction to enter a field, or completely change the student’s course and direction because of what the student learns about him- or herself while working.”

Addi Genard, a communication studies major from Mobile, Alabama, is interning for WVTM-Channel 13 in Birmingham, Alabama. In her role she assists field reporters, attends and contributes to editorial meetings, and follows stories from conception through broadcast. “I am involved in each step of the process, watching as an idea quickly becomes a story,” says Genard. “I am able to watch as interviews take place, adding in a few questions of my own. I have been taught how to write stories as well as how to edit them into newsworthy pieces. This internship allows me to use what I have learned in class and apply it to real-world situations.” Genard found this internship placement through personal connections, but prepared for it with the help of the CCV and is earning academic credit for her work. She’s also developing a video reel, which will be an essential component of her resume should she choose to continue in the broadcasting profession.

Sarah Beauchamp, a chemistry major from Illinois, served as a forensic pathology specialist for the Alabama Department of Forensic Science in the spring and in the beginning of summer 2019, a position about which she learned through discussions with her chemistry professors. “This internship has changed my path completely,” says Beauchamp. “I was able to determine that [forensic pathology] is what I want to make into a career. This internship made me more confident in the skills I already had and challenged me to learn new skills. I would highly recommend interning to any student who wants to get a real work sense for whatever field they want to make into a career. Sometimes you sign up for a major thinking that would be exciting to do, but when you actually are doing it hands on every day in a working environment—that is what will be the ultimate determination.”

Psychology major Abigail Eike of Prattville, Alabama, interns with the Department of Human Resources for Montgomery County, where she is earning academic credit for the unpaid full-time internship. Her duties have ranged from general office work to intake, investigation, and visit supervision regarding children who have been or could be placed in foster care or reunited with their biological parents. “I’ve always wanted to be a voice for kids who don’t have one,” says Eike. “DHS is a difficult place to work because it is emotional and taxing, but I am intrigued by the work they do every day, and I love knowing that whatever we do, we’re helping improve someone’s life at the end of the day. I am so grateful for this experience, and I am definitely planning on getting a master’s degree in social work after I graduate.”

Chase McKoon, who is majoring in both history and religion, has felt the calling to ministry and, to that end, has spent the summer as a pastoral intern with First United Methodist Church of Lakeland, Florida. The position is paid, but McKoon chose not to pursue the awarding of academic credit for his work, in which he assists with leading worship in any combination of the four different worship services the church offers, visits with congregants who are hospitalized, teaches a small group, and leads devotionals for children attending the church’s music camp, among many other duties. “This internship has taught me a lot and allowed me to do hands-on ministry throughout the summer. It has allowed me to see the inner workings of the local church in specialized areas through shadowing individual department heads.” The position has confirmed McKoon’s calling to ministry, but honed the direction of that calling. “Anyone who knows me well can tell you that I was on track to be an elder in the United Methodist Church. This internship has shown me that God is calling me to be a United Methodist Deacon. A deacon in the United Methodist Church serves as an ordained minister in a specialized area—such as missions—and bridges the church and the world together. I am currently discerning what my specialized area might be, and this internship has allowed me to learn about Christian education and to have discussions around justice ministry.”

Hands-on learning is a component of the College’s Huntingdon Plan, which also includes providing books and information resources, a laptop computer, and travel-study opportunities within regular tuition and fees for full-time day students. Numerous avenues for the attainment of active learning are part of the Huntingdon experience, including internships, externships, practicum placements, work-study placements, participation and leadership in student organizations and athletic teams, student-faculty research, and Senior Capstone projects.

Huntingdon College continues a legacy of faith, wisdom, and service through a liberal arts academic tradition grounded in the Judeo-Christian heritage of the United Methodist Church. Huntingdon College has been named a top 6 regional Best Value and top 11 regional college in the South by U.S. News and World Report; among a list of Colleges that Change Lives, by Washington Monthly; among the Best Colleges in Alabama and the Best Small Colleges in America by College Consensus; and among the Best Colleges: Region by Region (South) by the Princeton Review.

Huntingdon College is committed to a policy against legally impermissible, arbitrary, or unreasonable discriminatory practices. Therefore, the College, in accordance with applicable federal and state law and stated College policy, prohibits discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, religion, age and/or national origin. Inquiries and or complaints may be addressed to:

Huntingdon College Title IX Coordinator1500 East Fairview Ave.Montgomery, AL 36106TitleIXCoordinator@hawks.huntingdon.edu334-833-4420* This number is for reporting discrimination based on sex/gender.

Huntingdon College 504 Coordinator1500 East Fairview Ave.Montgomery, AL 36106ldorman@hawks.huntingdon.edu334-833-4465* This number is for requesting disability accommodations.